


Second Chance

by Ghostlyfluffster



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, And a little bit of, Drama, Herostuck, I'm never good with au names, Mobsters, Mystery, OR IS IT, SO SORRY, Second Chances, Superstuck, Violence, Vomit, harsh feelings that start to get dulled out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-19 06:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8193962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostlyfluffster/pseuds/Ghostlyfluffster
Summary: The crime fighting group known as "The Betas" went off the map several years ago. Emotions flared, words were said, and the four simply went on their separate ways. Now, seven years after the initial disbanding, the leader managed to get everyone back together. That doesn't mean that feelings have softened over the years. The four could always go back to their lives, but new threats may have to force the group to suit up again and become the reluctant heroes the city most definitely doesn't deserve.





	1. Meeting Old Friends Never Felt So Rough

Staying in a small room for such a long time can make anyone feel claustrophobic. The clutter in the place only added to the feeling. Old, yellowing newspaper clippings were either pinned up or taped onto every inch of the northern wall. A desk off to the opposite side only took away more precious space. Cheap, two pocket folders that were filled beyond the brim were still stacked just as they were left. The only difference was now spiders and dust had made those folders, as well as nearly everything in the room, their home. The young man took the top folder and wiped off the dust and cobwebs. A white sticker on the front had "Year of unbelievable stress" written in cursive on it. Hehe. Yeah. That year was pretty unbelievable. 

Flipping it open, it looked like the papers were in order from most to least recent. The first page was a copy of a picture. A black and white copy because someone didn't want to pay for colored ink. There were three smiling faces and one half smile, though they were all holding on to one another's shoulders. In the picture, dull medals were wrapped around their necks, but in reality, those medals gleamed brighter than an Olympian's gold. The four of them were dressed in ridiculous costumes, though in all honesty, they looked better in black and white than in actual color. 

A small, almost saddened smile crept across the man's lips. He was in the center of the group, considering he was the unofficial team leader. John Egbert, or as he was known in the picture, Cerulean Heir. He would also accept simply Heir on a good day. 

To his right was only one other person. She was the shortest member of the group, but in the picture, it was hard to tell, possibly because the shot was made above the waist and she tended to stand on her tip toes if she knew it would pass. It even looked like Rose Lalonde was trying to hold John down to appear to be roughly the same size as the group average. Though, what her size lacked, she made up for in skill, although her size really wasn't an issue in any situation the group was ever in. Known as the Aureolin Seer, she made sure that the group had all the information they needed on any given subject and then a little more. 

To his left was Mr. Half-Smile himself, aka Dave Strider, akax2, Chrono-Knight. He towered over his two smaller friends, but in the picture it looked like he was being dragged down with John. Or maybe that was just his normal hunch. It was always hard to tell with him. 

Next to him was a girl almost as tall as him. She lacked maybe an inch or two. Her smile was also shined just as bright as the medals, though in the picture it was noticeable. Jade Harley has always been pretty energetic. Even if her persona as Nuclear Witch tried to be serious and intimidating, that could be hard for her at times. 

God, he missed them. 

He browsed through a few more sheets before he closed the folder and placed it back down. He checked his phone both for the time and to see if someone texted him. It was almost eight and no. He's actually gotten pretty used to seeing an empty inbox. 

Just as he cleared off a spot on the desk to sit, he heard the knob start to rattle as someone was trying to unlock it. The door being thrown open indicated they were successful in the task. 

"I think the reason the door doesn't like you is because you like to abuse it on a regular basis," John piped up when he saw his friend descend down the staircase. 

"It should be over it by now. I haven't been here for years! It should be grateful that it's finally being used again," Jade said and hurried over to John to give him a hug. Or a death squeeze. Both were accurate descriptions. Still, John couldn't help but hug her back, just not as forcefully. "It's been forever since I've seen you! You can't believe how busy I've been. I swear if I actually had a moment to breathe I would have tried to find a way to spend it with you guys. If all of us sitting in a room together just to breathe, I would've been happy." She gave him a pat before finally letting him go. 

"Well, I can guarantee that this is gonna be way better than sitting in a room just to breathe. We're actually going to do friend stuff, like talking to each other." He smiled at her. It really has been forever since the group has gotten together. John doesn't remember the wrinkles around Jade's eyes or the few white strands that contrasted against her thick, dark hair. 

"I know, and I'm so excited! I can't believe we've gone so long without seeing each other. I kinda regret it, you know? We didn't have to tear the group apart. We could have just stopped the business and stayed really close friends." While Jade wanted to look at the old memories that hung up on the wall, she was more focused on John. "Do you even know if Rose and Dave are coming? I've only talked to them a little bit after the fight, and they didn't really seem like they wanted to talk, so after a while I got so busy I couldn't really bug them until they softened up." 

"I'm pretty sure that Dave's coming. He'll just try to be fashionably late to make us think that he has better things to do when he really doesn't. I want to say Rose is, but I'm not for sure. She can hold grudges, I know that for sure. Maybe I should've picked a better place. Like a restaurant or someplace like that. Not the old hideout." He looked down at the dusty floor, then over to his side when Jade came over and sat down next to him. 

"I think it was a pretty awesome idea. I kinda forgot just how many times we were in the paper. Heck, I was starting to forget what this place looked like! I missed it. I'm sure they'll enjoy seeing the old place too. If not, then we can just go down to Pasquale's Pizza and eat our hearts out and catch up on things." She placed a warm hand on his shoulder and John couldn't help but grin. 

"That would be a great plan if it didn't close down a year ago," he snickered. 

"What? No way. You're totally lying to me." 

"I'm totally not. It's still a restaurant. The people who bought it out turned it into a old timey diner. It's not half bad." 

"But their pizza was the best! There couldn't have sold the place." 

"I mean, if there was a protest vote then I would have tried to stop it, but I'm pretty sure businesses don't follow a democratic system." 

"Laaaame," she drew out and started to kick feet back and forth. 

After sound came from the door as someone tried to unlock it. Jade really is the only one that has as hard time unlocking that thing. Much to John's surprise, it was Rose who came down the steps. Her hair was even shorter now, and that blonde was way to dark to the natural color he remembered. Her makeup and clothes were as dark as ever. John let out a small sigh when he saw the look on her face though. He was expecting her to be annoyed, if anything. Instead, she had a small smile perched upon her lips as she took the last steps down the stairs and slowly walked over to them. Honestly, there wasn't much room to wander around anyway. And even after all these years, she still has that limp. 

"Hello John, Jade. It has been quite a while, hasn't it? Obviously, with the amount of dust and dirt in this room." Once she was close enough, Jade hopped up to give her a hug as well. Rose let out a grunt, like she also forgot how devastating Jade's hugs could be, but soon enough caved in. 

"You look so great! How long have you had your hair cut like this?" Jade asked and let go. 

"For around a month now. I made an attempt to grow it out after we disbanded, but that was too bothersome for my pleasure. It managed to surpass my shoulders and then I had it all cut off. I honestly don't know why I didn't do it sooner." 

"Maybe because longer hair meant longer showers?" John offered and Rose smiled. 

"Very true, but longer hair also involves more work. Work that I'd rather not do when I'm trying to relax in my makeshift sauna." She gently nudged Jade out of the way and stole her seat on the desk. Jade gave a playful huff at the action. 

John shifted around, trying to find the write words to say now. Rose seemed content, but there was still a massive elephant in this tiny room that needed to be addressed, he guessed for everyone's sake. This was a time for making things right and getting the gang back together, after all. 

"Oh hey, so Rose...I just wanted to say that, and I think that I can also talk for Jade and Dave when I say that-" 

"If you're wanting to apologize once again, don't waste your time," she sighed. "The past is the past. It has taken me a while, yes, but I have finally found some peace and acceptance. If anything, I should be apologizing to you two, as well as Dave if he ever makes and appearance, for essentially cutting you out of my life. Not only was I mad, but life got in the way as well. So...I give to you my sincerest apologies. Albany was rough for all of us. Though, while I still hold firm that disbanding was beneficial, drifting away from my friends wasn't." She gave a hesitant smile towards them. After a moment, John reached around her shoulder and gave her a weird, sideways hug. Of course, Jade couldn't resist and went in for the group hug, but this time she was actually rather gentle. 

"Aww, I've missed you too," John said. The weight on his shoulders lifted to the point where he felt like he wasn't becoming Quasimodo II. The hug soon came to an end and Rose looked like she was feeling the same level of relief. Her eyes were even getting a little watery and she coolly attempted to wipe away any pesky tears. Instead of pointing it out, John tried to move on to something off topic as they waited for the last one of the group to show. "Hey, did you know that they shut down Pasquale's?" 

"In a way, yes," she answered after a moment of recomposing herself. "I didn't see it while I was driving, so I began to fear that my memory of this town wasn't as good as it had been. That fear was small and rather irrelevant, but it was still a fear nonetheless. I also liked to believe that rather than the hard gripping reality that Pasquale's did indeed shut down." 

Jade started walking around the small space. "Hey guys. Didn't we used to have some chairs or a table or just something else in here?" 

"Yeah. I think I took the chairs out a little while after we split up. What can I say? They were good chairs," John shrugged and Jade just accepted it and leaned against the wall. 

A few minutes later, they heard the final twist of the doorknob, followed by the sound of someone hitting his head upon entrance along with a muffled "Fucking shit." Dave came down rubbing his forehead, then played it off by running his hand through his hair. He didn't expect everyone to be here. Actually, yes he did. 

"Sup guys." He moved his head up as a sign of recognition. Once again, Jade wasted no time to wrap him up in a spine breaking hug. He was trying to keep a cool face, but it was pretty obvious that he was struggling. 

"Just take it in, Dave," Rose said. "We all had to endure it." 

"I know you guys secretly love my hugs!" 

"I also like my back and ability to walk. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have the raddest wheelchair around. All I would need to do is put some flames on the wheels and a a license plate that says "iceman" in all caps on the back of my seat or something douchey like that. But what I am saying is that I'm already one of the raddest guys around. No need to put everyone else to shame and make them consider if their lives hold any value to the world. That shit's depressing." 

"You're depressing," Jade countered and released him from the hug. 

"Am not. Now, what is depressing is this room," Dave said and looked around. "I remember it being so lively and even more cramped. Now it just feels like what I guess is the insides of an old person. Really dusty and cobwebby and hasn't seen any action for years." He blew at a cobweb that was on a few of the newspaper clippings. "Why are we here anyway? I'm a busy man, Egbert. I ain't got much time for whatever shenanigans you have up your sleeve. You're lucky that I even came down." 

"Aw, it appears someone has a fork stuck deep inside his rectum," Rose mused with a shit eating grin on her face. 

"Dude. You literally can create all the time in the world to do whatever you want, so don't be complaining about that," John added, then took a breath. "I just thought that since we haven't seen each other in literal years, it would be nice to finally hang out with you guys again." 

"Y'know, I'm pretty sure there's a reason why we stopped hanging out to begin with." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. They couldn't have a good day, could they? 

Jade huffed. "Dave, the group hasn't seen each other in the same room, face to face like this in seven years! We know that Albany fucked us up really, really good, but for seven years? Come _on_ Dave! I know you're way above coming all the way down here just to tell us to fuck off and then go off to do god knows what." She could feel hidden eye roll, but chose to ignore it. "At least try to enjoy yourself," she ended with a sigh. 

"I am, and I will. I'm just saying that life's been pretty good to me since we split up." 

"In all fairness, we were only high school students back then," Rose added. "Life seemed to be everyone's enemy. While our after school activities did greatly impact our lives, our lives sucked to begin with. Graduation allowed us to simply move on. We went our separate ways, and that had given us time to grow up a little bit. By growing up, we also learn to let certain things go. It took me quite a while to realize that, so please at least consider my words." 

"Well, I haven't left yet, so you guys haven't pissed me off that much. I'm just spitting out some cold hard facts." 

A silence fell on the room. John knew that there was going to be at least a little bit of hostility during the get together, but he expected it more out of Rose than out of Dave. 

All he wanted was for them to become friends again. 

"Well...how about we all leave?" John offered and everyone looked at him. "I mean, I was on the fence about where the best meet up place would be. I thought that here would be the best place, but I kinda forgot how cramped things were. So how about we check out the place that took over Pasquale's?" 

"Wait. Pasquale's was bought out? Shit man, I shouldn't've showed up to this lame ass meeting." Dave looked like he was going to say more, but Jade locked elbows with him and started to drag the reluctant man up the stairs. 

"Oh hush. We're gonna get food and catch up and you're gonna like it! If it will make you a happy camper, I'll even pay for your meal." 

"Damn Harley. You still hit me where I'm weak." 

The two of them exited and John looked over to Rose. She seemed a little troubled. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked. 

"It's nothing, really. I just didn't think that Dave would still be tore up over Albany. He simply lost control and that scared him. In order for him to cope, he's putting the blame on us, but I know there's more to his dilemma. Give me some time. I can figure it out." She stood up and brushed herself off. "Though I would like to believe that he has enough brain cells to see that we were all scared kids in an event we had no right to be in to begin with. We all lost something that day, each individualized. However, and call me a sap if you very well please, I believe the greatest thing we lost was our friendship." 

John honestly didn't know how to respond to that. He felt like he was stuck on the desk, only able to watch Rose slowly climb the stairs and let her words sink in. Without looking back at him, Rose continued to talk. "Unlike everything else, we can at least save our friendship. Now, are you coming or should I tell everyone they're allowed to go home? I hypothesize that Jade would still make us have a sit down dinner without you, but the group isn't a group without every member present." 

Once the words settled, John smiled again and jumped off the desk and climbed the stairs as well. He knew she was smiling as well. "God, this is gonna be awkward." 

"No doubt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter is done! I hope that you guys enjoy it so far! I also promise that things will pick up quickly within the next two or three chapters. I just wanted to lay out some groundwork, y'know?


	2. Midnight Bistro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halfway horrible food isn't the only thing that can make a person sick.

Pasquale's was by far the greatest restaurant the group of four has ever known. Not only was the food good, but it was also super cheap. The staff was amazing, despite being forced to put up with some less than civilized customers from time to time. The walls used to be covered with generic flower paintings and cityscapes. Anywhere else the art would have been as tacky as a floral shirt in the backwoods of Kentucky, though honestly, nearly everything in Kentucky is it's own form of tacky, but in that restaurant they had a strange sense of belonging. 

The outside of the building really wasn't anything to look at. The walls used to be white, but then turned a weird shade of cream over the years. "Pasquale's" was painted in red right beside the door with a stereotypical Italian chef spinning a pizza at the end of the word. They had all tried it out as a joke years ago, expecting it to be some poor soul's attempt to create a decent restaurant then sell it the next month or so after he saw just how hard it was to run a restaurant. Needless to say, they were all surprised by the quality and it soon became their's, as well as every other teens', hang out spot.

They all knew that it wasn't going to feel like the same Pasquale's they have always known and loved, but the new owners changed it so drastically that it was hard to recall even the most memorable memories made at the place. 

For one, the outside wall was painted over again. Apparently, the new owner didn't learn from the mistakes of the old one and painted the building white again. Instead of the name being on the side, it was right above the door in fancy, black letters. "The Midnight Bistro" was admittedly a cool name. 

The inside really didn't feel like it was special. There were new tables and booths as well as a bar in one of the side rooms, but it was hard to tell the difference between this restaurant and any Olive Garden that has ever existed. Possibly the only difference was this place was really dim, like they were wanting to make it feel like the patrons were eating during the night no matter what time of day it was. If anything, it was just an inconvenience. Especially to Dave. Due to his stubbornness, he never took off his shades even if he was as blind as a bat. Instead of screaming to pinpoint the near exact location of objects, he just followed the back of Jade's bright shirt as she led the way to an empty table. There wasn't a host or hostess waiting to greet them, so she assumed this place was a seat yourself kind of place, like Pasquale's was when it wasn't in the middle of a rush. 

The group filed in to a booth; Jade and Dave one one side, Rose and John on the other. The menus were already at the end of the table, so Jade passed them around. 

An awkward silence fell upon the group. Jade at least tried to start up a conversation, but the lack of meaningful responses almost forced her pipe down. They were all just too immersed in the menus to carry on a conversation. Yeah. That's totally what it was, or at least, that's what Jade made herself believe. Even John had fallen strangely silent. Maybe he expected everything to be fine? For all those hard feelings to falter over the years? Honestly? Jade thought that would happen too. Rose was willing to give the reunion a shot. Dave, on the other hand, obviously had stuff on his mind. 

Surely he wasn't still mad. 

It made her worry a little bit. It couldn't be healthy to hold a grudge for so long. Or maybe it wasn't a grudge at all? Maybe he just found this as an inconvenience? They all had lives now outside of the group and school, so that was always a possibility. It was just annoying trying to figure out what his problem was. 

It was always annoying trying to figure out what his problem was.

After a moment or two of awkwardly sitting around and half pretending to look at the menu, a small, plump lady came over to their table with a small notebook in her hand. For such a dim restaurant, she had a smile as bright as the sun with a mesh of clothes just as bright.

"Hello! I hope you all are finding everything alright this evening. Our special tonight is the Midnight Stew for seven ninety-nine. If you aren't ready to order, I can go on and get your drinks," she said. They all knew that she was reading off a memorized script, but she still kept plenty of personality in her voice. Good for her.

At least they could all agree on something.

"I'll just have a Pepsi, please," John started off and the waitress started writing.

"Iced tea please," Rose said next.

"I see your iced tea and raise you a sweet tea," Dave replied.

"Enjoy your overly sweet sugar and leaf water, Texas," she countered.

"You can't tell me what to do. Hell, I might find a perfectly good glass of sweet tea absolutely disgusting just in spite."

"You do you. As you said, I cannot tell you what you can and can't do."

"Whatever, man."

"I'll have a water with some lemons," Jade piped up from the back both to stop the conversation that was going on (despite it looking like it was already dead) and so the waitress could get their drinks. 

The waitress didn't seem to mind their antics. If anything, she seemed like she enjoyed hearing them bicker. Not so much in a sadistic sense, but more like in a humorous sitcom sense. "Alright. I'll have them right up! Take all the time you need." With that, she was off.

Once more, the group was silent until John decided to attempt some friendly conversation. Much to his surprised, everyone looked halfway interested all of a sudden. "Man, this place isn't anything like Pasquale's. I'm actually kinda disappointed. Well, I didn't really have high hopes for this place anyway, but the food looks and sounds so generic, y'know?"

"In all honesty, Pasquale's was just a generic Italian place," Dave shrugged, "but at least I could see the menu. The color palette this place has is like an edgy goth girl's dream. Right Rose?"

"Actually no. They need just a few shades of purple here and there as well as some bright red to represent the blood of the 'haters' and then it would be an edgy goth girl's dream," she pointed out. "How do you even expect to order if you can't see the menu?"

"Easy. I'll order last and copy off of whoever gets the best sounding meal. Now, if all ya'll fuckers get the Midnight Stew, I'm straight up abandoning this ship. Who the fuck orders a stew at a not really fancy restaurant?"

"I'm sure there is someone in the city absolutely thrilled that their favorite meal is finally being served in a public area," Rose countered with the hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.

"I feel sorry for that dull, dull soul. He may have a family and his wife of eight years is finally starting to regret her life choices now that she's coming to the realization that the man she believed was 'the one' turns out the be the lamest guy in the world when he sat down here and got hella thrilled that he could finally have stew in a shitty restaurant." 

Luckily, he managed to get that last part out by the time the waitress came back over to their table with the drinks. "Alright, here you guys are! Now, are you ready to order?" she asked, already getting out her pen and notepad. John nodded and started the ordering train that went around the table. He ordered the 'Clubs Double Decker,' which apparently was a cheeseburger with two patties and every basic condiment stacked up on top of one another. Rose went with a simple spaghetti meal and Jade decided on a personal meatlover's pizza. Dave ended up ordering the same thing as John. The waitress left with a bright smile still on her face and the group fell silent again. 

A fly started to buzz around, and John gave it a little windy push to get it to go away. His attention turned to one of the lights danging above the table and he casually made it sway back and forth with an extremely gentle breeze. This really was a bad idea. Once the group separated, they should have stayed separated. It was hard to admit, but it was the truth. Before John could go too deep into his thoughts, however, Rose started nudging him. He looked over and gave her a questioning "Hm?" Even in this horrendous lighting he could tell that she was starting to lose some color. Her face was drooping and her nudges were becoming a little more urgent. 

"I need out."

"Oh, uh-" John didn't have time to think of a stupid question to ask. If he did ask a stupid and rather meaningless question, he was sure Rose would smack him. To avoid injury to his face or other regions of his body, he quickly scooted out and Rose soon followed, only to keep going to blindly try to find her way around. The three at the table continued to watch as she left and turned a corner. 

"That was weird," Dave said after he decided to be the one to state the obvious. 

"Yeah. She was perfectly fine earlier," John added and slid back into his seat. "Maybe her body was just too excited to see us? I mean, I doubt it, but it's a possibility."

"That has the same possibility level as me taking off my shades in the middle of the day just to stare at the sun, bro."

"That's really the only explanation I have," he shrugged. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Of course I do. The Rose we know is secretly an ancient witch. In order to maintain her youthful complexion, she has to eat like, five kids and suck out there souls with a bendy straw or something fun and whimsical like that. Since she's with us tonight, she couldn't go out on a hunt and now she's shriveling up like the old hag she is," Dave said nonchalantly. 

"Come on guys! Both of you are way off!" Jade chimed. "It's pretty obvious that she's cursed because she forgot to forward a chain mail to ten people back in middle school, and now it's finally catching up with her." Both Jade and John laughed, and even they could catch the faintest hint of a Strider smile. It wasn't so much a smile as it was the corners of his mouth weakly turned upward. 

"To be serious though," Jade went on, "she probably just has some kind of stomach problem. You know how those things can creep up on you. I say she'll be better in a couple of minutes."

"Hopefully. It would kinda suck if she got super sick after spending just an hour or so with us. I don't think we're _that_ nauseating," John shrugged.

Dave and Jade nodded and once again the remainder of the group fell into a silence. This time it wasn't as awkward. They had a decent;y nice conversation. That was a start! John didn't expect everyone to bond all over again within the first few minutes, or even hours of seeing each other. It was going to take baby steps, and everyone kind of understood that. Still, it was nice to joke around, even if it was at one person's expense. She wasn't here. And even if she was, she probably would have joined in. 

The tension at the table felt like it decreased just a tad. However, the tension was soon turned into worry when Rose didn't come back when the waitress came over with their meals. That worry only increased as the amount of food on everyone's plate decreased. Well, minus Rose's plate, as long as one wouldn't count the small forkful Jade stole just to see how it tasted. It was good, but not as good as Pasquale's. 

John stole a few glances around the corner where he last saw Rose. She was bound to come back any second, right? Right. She wouldn't just ditch them. Dave might, but he was starting to get rid of his god awful attitude, so John wasn't as worried about him any more. Rose? She was almost overjoyed to see them. There was no way she was going to ditch. 

"Hey Jade?" John spoke up after a few minutes of silence and she lifted her head. "Can you go check on Rose? I would, but you can see why I can't." 

"Oh yeah. She's been gone for a while." She patted Dave on his arm and he scooted out. She scooted out as well and then turned the corner to find the bathroom, or at least Rose. Jade couldn't and wouldn't complain if they bumped into each other in the hallway. 

The guys watched as she left and then turned to each other. 

"Rose hasn't told you about any diseases she might have picked up over the years, right?" John asked. While they waited for the girls to return, he closed the opening of his straw with his finger and took it out of his drink, then removed his finger and let the liquid fall back into the drink, then repeated the process. Sometimes he really was a kid. 

"No. Our conversations normally end after an awkward few sentences following an ice breaker." 

"That's pretty hard to believe. You used to keep on rambling your Strider nonsense even after you knew that whoever you were talking to was offline." 

"Yeah, well, things change. People, interests, free time, all that good shit. After Albany, things just kinda fell out of place and I'm just now starting to piece the puzzle of my life back together. I'm not saying that being friends with you guys straight up destroyed my life to the point of slow return. I'm just saying that being an adult is not what I thought it was going to be. Do you know the last time I had a nice ten minutes to myself and just jerked it?" 

"I really don't want to know, Dave." 

"Like, two years ago, man." 

"Uh...okay, bro. Sorry for...I don't even know. It's not like I directly caused whatever sexual frustration you've been going through for the past couple of years. That's your own fault, and I sure as hell am not going to help you out of your rut." While John felt a little disgusted, he couldn't help but crack a laugh in the end. 

"And I sure as hell don't want you to help me. For one, I don't have time, and for two, it would just feel weird. Like hey, I know we've barely talked for the last couple of years, but would you be willing to give me a handjob? C'mon dude. I'm better than that." 

"I love how time issues was your first reason and not the fact it would be weird." 

"Shut up." John was positive that if they were sitting side by side, Dave would have given him a decent, playful bro punch. Although they haven't talked in quite some time and they didn't necessarily leave on good terms, the bro code is still very much in place. The very first commandment states "Once a bro, always a bro," so John really hoped that was true. 

"What have you been doing anyway? It must be fucking stressful if you can't have some me, myself, and I time." 

"Eh, not so much stressful as time consuming. Two jobs does that to you." John's eyes widened a little bit, then he quietly held up his fist for Dave to bump. Dave gave him a confused as all hell look. "What's this for?" 

"Welcome to the two jobs club." With that reason, Dave finally met John's fist with his own. "I work at a little club as a comedy act and at Kmart." 

"Part-time photographer, full time stocker at Walmart. Living the fucking American dream, if that dream was a synonym for minimum wage and then some." 

"Hell yeah. Our lives suck," John laughed and that managed to get an actual smile out of Dave. Even if Albany never happened, they would have probably had to retire from the superhero business. They would feel good at the end of the day for helping complete strangers out of whatever dangerous situation they were in, but that was pretty much it. There was no way for them to get paid, so they were pretty much required to enter the workforce. They all knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but the whole idea of it sucked. Working everyday just to break even sucked. Everything sucked. 

The waitress came back over and asked if they would like a box or two. John looked around and saw Rose's food was nearly untouched and Jade still had some of her pizza left. He also had some food on his plate as well as Dave, so he asked for four boxes just in case they really did need all of them. She went off to get them as well as their bills. 

"Damn. The gang's finally back together and someone apparently can't stand our presence long enough to have a meal with us," Dave scoffed and John couldn't tell if he was seriously upset or just joking around. He did notice that the smile on Dave's face disappeared just as quickly as it initially appeared. 

"Well, she looked pretty sick. I don't think she could help it. I mean, when you gotta puke, you gotta puke, assuming that's what she's doing." 

A moment after she left, the waitress came back over with their boxes and receipts. "Just pay up at the front and have a nice night!" she said and then went off to refill glasses for another table. John took two boxes and handed the others over to Dave. 

"Maybe we should go and check on them?" John offered as he put his food in his Styrofoam box. 

"I say we give them five more minutes, then we'll barge into the women's restroom." 

"Sounds like a plan. You counting?" 

"You know it." 

While there are many differences between Pasquale's and the Midnight Bistro, the restrooms stayed relatively the same, or at least the lady's restroom did. Two stalls, one sink, and white walls. Jade peaked inside and saw that the handicap stall was closed but the other was open. The air had a hint of a hot, horrible smell to it. Based on the noise, Rose was trying her very hardest to hold back her gags and coughs. Slowly and quietly, Jade knocked on her stall door. 

"Rose?" she said gently and paused for a moment to see if she was feeling up to answering. Obviously not. "Do you need anything? Like some water? Or a back rub?" She would have also offered to hold her hair, but it was cut way too short to cause Rose any trouble. If it did, then Rose must be having a horrible time. 

"I'm fine," Rose choked out and that only told Jade that she wasn't. 

"Rose...I think I should come over there. Hold on." She knelt down and Rose shifted. 

"Please don't. I'm fine, Jade. I just...I need a moment." 

"Already crawling through and there's nothing you can do to stop me." On the bright side, the floors were halfway clean. She crawled under the door and stood up when she was in the clear. 

Rose really looked terrible. Her head rested on her arms and she looked completely wore out. Her breathing was uneven and she was doing her very best to avoid Jade. 

"Hey girl...feeling..." The closer Jade got to her, the more obvious it was that something wasn't right. Little dots of black were splattered on the seat and floor, almost as if Rose was throwing up ink. She moved her head so Jade couldn't see inside the toilet and weakly raised her arm to flush the contents down. That was extremely unsettling, but Jade knelt down next to her friend away and rubbed her back. "Feeling better?" 

Rose groaned and wiped her mouth with her sleeve before turning to face Jade. Her face had lost a nice amount of it's color and she was swallowing back even more vile. "Honestly? Not really." 

"It's okay. Just go on and get it all out. If you want, you can even stay with me tonight. I plan on living here for a while, so I rented a nice apartment with a pretty view and a clean bathroom. Do you want to do that instead of spend the night alone in a hotel room? Or! I could spend the night with you! And don't you dare say you want to be alone. You can't be alone! Not like this." 

"I normally am," she muttered and then went for round number two. Jade turned her head but continued to rub Rose's back in smooth circles. When Rose felt like she was through, she flushed the toilet again and took a few moments to catch her breath. "B-but, I would love to take you up on your offer." 

Jade wanted to give Rose a hug, but she figured she better save it for later. For now, she showed her affection by giving her shoulder a squeeze and then went back to rubbing her back. 

The main door flung open and both of the girls fell silent, or in Rose's case, as silent as she could be with a cough tickling her throat. Jade furrowed her brows when she heard the conversation. 

"Dave, this is a bad idea. What is someone else is in here?" John whispered and Dave ignored him. 

"Jade? Rose? You guys in here?" he called out in his indoor voice. They were in a bathroom after all. Not in the fucking woods. 

"Why are you guys in here?" Jade replied with a little bit of harshness in her voice. She gave Rose a pat and then stood up. 

"We got boxes and we got food. Prepare to have you minds blown when I say the food is actually in the boxes," Dave said. John blocked the door just to stay on the safe side of things. 

"I would have never guessed," Jade mocked a gasp. She looked over at Rose, who was slowly raising up from the toilet. She looked shaky, but she could stand. "We'll be out in a minute guys. You can go on and wait for us outside." 

"Alright, cool," John quickly said. There was a little fussing between the two guys, and Jade was positive that John had to physically drag Dave out of the restroom. Oh, she really did miss those goofballs. 

Now that the restroom was empty once more, Jade turned to Rose and put a gentle arm around her shoulders. Rose acted like she wanted to refuse the offer, but after a moment she was okay with it. "Feeling good enough to leave?" Jade asked and Rose nodded. 

"I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I really hate to cut this meeting short, but I simply cannot continue whatever whacky activities we had planned for the rest of the night. If you want, you can drop me off at your apartment and then spend the rest of the night with that boys, that is, if you believe you can come back sane." She smiled and Jade laughed. 

"While that does sound like fun, it wouldn't be the same without you. I could just invite the guys over and we can have a sleepover! God, we haven't had one of those since graduation. And if you're still feeling sick, you can lay down in my room and the rest of us can hang out in a different room. Sound like a plan?" 

Jade's smile was so bright it could blind Dave if he didn't have his shades on. There was no way Rose could refuse, although she really, really wanted to. After a moment of thought, Rose nodded and Jade squealed in delight. She gave Rose another hug and Rose grunted. 

"As much as I appreciate your love, can you please not show it to me now? I may end up needing another fifteen minutes with the porcelain throne over there." 

"Oh! Sorry!" Jade backed off, but stayed close to Rose in case she needed someone to lean on. She opened the stall door and headed out to meet the boys and offer them the deal for tonight. All she could do was hope they would take up the offer. It felt like they were so close to being friends again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for checking this out! I promise there will be plenty of action to come in the next chapter or two, so just hold tight.  
> Also, please feel free to talk to me at Ghostlyfluffster.tumblr.com! I kind of want to put some ships into this, but I'm not for sure which ones I should use. Feel free to leave suggestions! See you guys at the next chapter!


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